Books
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An Unpretentious Way to Read “More” Books
The amount that I read is a running joke in my household, whether it is being asked “so did you finish it yet?” right when I start a book, or me reporting my running tally just to annoy those around me. I am an incredibly fast reader, and that a big part of how I finish so many books, but I honestly think that a lot of my ability to get through so many books is that I structure my life in a such as way that I can manage it. I’m not reading every second, and I still go to work, watch a ton of TV, sleep, make food…
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Cozy Mystery Round Up
Every once in a while, I need the book equivalent of a freshly baked cookie, something light, fluffy and without much substance. The books that give me the best “cookie” vibes are almost always “cozy” murder mysteries, especially when they have a female detective. I mean, when the world feels like it is ending, what could be better than reading about bad-ass women who can fix all the problems that they are given and still manage to enjoy themselves? My all time favorite series is the Phryne Fisher series, which was also developed into an absolutely wonderful television show. This series is set in late 1920s Australia and is based…
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My Reading Month: June
Another month down, and we are halfway through 2020. I don’t think it is a stretch to say we are having to reckon with a lot of our historic, structural issues this year in a big way. I keep seeing people talking about how they wish 2020 would take a break, and while I agree, I also recognize that most of these issues were just as present in 2019, 2018 and before and this is just the breaking point. I am struggling to find a way to respond without feeling like I am “performing” activism, outrage or simply grief. This blog is all about stories, but I don’t have a…
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On Diversity and Reading: Amplifying BIPOC Authors and Voices
This post was also posted on my original blog, Reading Diversely. If you are here because of that, please consider subscribing for more updates. When I started the “Reading Diversely” book project in 2017, I was frustrated and I was aware that the “mainstream” books that received marketing money and were likely to be recommended and receive awards most often were dominated by white men. I wasn’t angry. Yet. Over the course of that year, I fell back in love with reading, but I also became increasingly aware that the problem was so much broader and so much more pervasive than I had realized. I was shocked by the number…
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My Reading Month: May
I didn’t really have much of a reading month in May to be honest – we went back to work (in the midst of a pandemic) and between dealing with that AND a move, reading wasn’t at the top of the list of things I was eager to do when I got home at night! Also, with everything going on the world, it feels self serving to post too much about my little reading project now. What I will say is that I am working on a post that looks at books about racial equity, racism and racialized violence, and I HIGHLY encourage you to take a minute to look…
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My Reading Month: April
April definitely felt like the longest month I have experienced in a while. I’m a little overwhelmed as I go into May, but looking back, I can also say I took full advantage of the last month in terms of reading. In terms of trends, I can see my attention span was lower – I read more graphic novels and short books, and it took me FOREVER to finish the longer, more dense books I was reading. However, that makes a lot of sense to me. This has been a weird time, and sometimes we need quick bites of respite when we are dealing with big things like a global…
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A Jane Austen Re-read: Persuasion
Hello, I’ll be back in the next few days with a few other things, but today, I bring you the last of Jane Austen’s books, Persuasion. This short and sweet book is a great one, and I have been looking forward to it! There are spoilers below. If you haven’t already read this book or watched one of the movies, this post likely isn’t going to make much sense anyway. Rereading The Book Persuasion is the story of 27 year old Anne Elliot, the second daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, a spendthrift landowner who ends up having to relocate to Bath to reduce expenses. Anne is sensible, quiet and reasonable,…
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A Jane Austen Re-read: Northanger Abbey
Hello! Another week in quarantine, another Jane Austen marathon down. This week, I have been hoping for spring to come, and trying to stay upbeat despite some dreary weather. I’m working on what comes next on this blog, because I have one of these books left, so let me know if there is anything you want to see! Next week, we are wrapping up this series with Persuasion, which is both short and one of my favorites, so I am looking forward to it! There are spoilers below. If you haven’t already read this book or watched one of the movies, this post likely isn’t going to make much sense…
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A Jane Austen Re-read: Emma
Hello everyone, The fact that Emma is so popular means that it took me an extra week just to make it through the sheer volume of Emma’s many adaptations, and I didn’t even get to them all – however, I am here now, and I have to tell you that you are in for a treat! I approached this book with some dread because when I first read Emma, I did not like it all that much. I thought Emma was annoying, and the central relationship between Harriet and Emma was grating, and many of the characters felt a little more one-sided than in some of her other books. I…
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My Reading Month: March
Well, March is (finally) over, and I can’t say I am sorry to see it go. Spring is a necessary thing for my mental health at this point, and while snow will continue to fall for the next few weeks, snow in April never lasts long enough to keep me from hiking! Social distancing (I would out money on this as the “word of the year” from dictionaries at the end of 2020) continues to be an interesting adventure, as my housemates and I balance our mental health, work and relationships within a limited amount of space. To say that I have used reading as an escape this month would…
